"Internet gambling is not dead in America"

Martin Owens was speaking in Spain at a conference during the sixth annual European Interactive Gaming Congress And Expo (EiG) and ran over the “curious” nature of state versus Federal law in the United States. He detailed the complexities and inconsistencies of the law and the apparent predilection of enforcement authorities to harass and intimidate vulnerable targets rather than focusing on issues of US law that remain unresolved. “Internet gambling is not dead in America,” said Owens.

The President of the Interactive Media, Entertainment and Gaming Association (IMEGA), Edward Leyden, also spoke at the event in Barcelona and said that his organisation represented the wide interests of entertainment including online gambling. He insisted that adults have the fundamental right to engage in entertainment that may include online gambling and went on to give an impassioned summary of his organisation's activities to date.

He praised Judge Mary Cooper, who is currently hearing a case IMEGA brought against the US Department Of Justice demanding a restraining order on the implementation of UIGEA, and stated that she was a “an erudite, fair and technology oriented official with conscientious attention to detail”.

“Following the hearing last week and without presuming to prejudge the issue, we came away feeling very confident in a fair and knowledgeable result from Judge Cooper,” said Leyden.